Exploring the impact of specialist and generalist stars on organizational performance

RESEARCH ARTICLE Exploring the impact of specialist and generalist stars on organizational performance Georgios Nalbantis *, Christian Manger2☯, Tim Pawlowski1,3,4‡, Philip Yang5‡ 1☯ 1 Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Sports Science, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, 2 Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, 3 LEAD Graduate School and Research Network in Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, 4 Interfaculty Research Institute for Sports and Physical Activity in Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, 5 Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany ☯ These authors contributed equally to this work. ‡ TP and PY also contributed equally to this work. * Abstract OPEN ACCESS Citation: Nalbantis G, Manger C, Pawlowski T, Yang P (2026) Exploring the impact of specialist and generalist stars on organizational performance. PLoS One 21(5): e0349682. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349682 Editor: Chunyu Zhang, Guangxi Normal University, CHINA We analyze the impact of specialist and generalist stars on organizational performance by linking the literature on star employees and specialization. Our adaptive role framework allows stars to switch roles over time. We develop a game-theoretical model to derive hypotheses and to empirically test them using basketball data. Consistent with theoretical predictions, the results show that teams with generalist stars outperform those with specialists. While a generalist switching to a specialist role always worsens performance, a specialist switching to a generalist role may improve performance. Additional estimations suggest that these findings hold for teams relying on a unique star rather than multiple stars. Received: June 2, 2025 Accepted: May 4, 2026 Introduction Published: May 28, 2026 Human capital is widely regarded as a critical driver of organizational productivity and success [1]. Among the most influential contributors to firm outcomes are star employees—individuals with exceptional performance, visibility, and valuable human and social capital [2]. Although extensive research has explored the benefits of recruiting stars (e.g., [3,4]), less attention has been paid to how differences in the individual qualities of stars influence organizational performance [5]. Specifically, the interplay between generalist and specialist stars remains underexplored, despite evidence suggesting that these distinctions can profoundly shape team dynamics and outcomes [6–8]. The distinction between generalists and specialists is a recurring theme in both academic (e.g., [7,9,10]) and non-academic literature. Generalists possess broad knowledge and skills, enabling them to engage in a variety of tasks, while specialists excel in specific areas but may struggle outside their domains of expertise [11]. Copyright: © 2026 Nalbantis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data availability statement: The data that support the empirical findings of this study are owned by Sportradar AG and Synergy Sports Technology. For replication purposes and in line with the common principles and practices for protected data use of Research Data Centers, the authors offer the opportunity for an on-site analysis with a provided computer PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349682 May 28, 2026 1 / 23 (offline) in the facilities of the University of Tuebingen upon request via email. If, however, the intention is to build up the dataset used from scratch, information on how the protected source data can be accessed today is available on the Synergy Sports support page: https:// support.synergysports.com/support/solutions/ articles/77000565972-play-call-lineup-analysis. Such data requests may be submitted at https:// sportradar.com/synergy-player-tracking/. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Empirical studies offer conflicting evidence about which type is more beneficial: some suggest that generalists enhance team flexibility and creativity, especially in dynamic environments [12,13], while others indicate that high task interdependency favors specialists [14]. This ongoing debate has also extended to corporate leadership, where generalist CEOs often receive a pay premium despite mixed evidence regarding their performance impact [10,11,15]. However, the literature remains largely silent on the role of generalist and specialist non-executive star employees in team environments. Moreover, there have not been any attempts yet to develop and empirical test a formal theoretical model about how differences in individual star qualities relate to team performance. This paper seeks to address these gaps by examining the impact of generalist and specialist stars on team performance in the context of professional basketball. Professional basketball provides a unique setting to study the interplay between generalist and specialist stars due to its high task interdependence and the prominent role of individual contributions in team success. Specifically, we make three key contributions: First, we connect research on the impact of stars on performance with literature on specialization and diversification. Following Kehoe, Lepek and Bentley [5] several types of stars exist (e.g., universal, status, networking stars). In this paper the spotlight is put on performance stars (subsequently referred to as star performers), that is, individuals who demonstrate exceptional task performance. We define stars’ generalist or specialist orientation based on their multitasking capacity, measured through their offensive play types. Following Buser and Peter [16] multitasking is defined as the switching between multiple contingent tasks. Multitasking is increasingly recognized as a critical skill, particularly in complex and uncertain environments [17]. Second, our analysis centers on star performers who excel in team environments, rather than executive roles, to explore their unique contributions to performance. Third, drawing on leadership theory, and in particular on leader flexibility, effective actors perceive the situation, generate options, and adjust their roles as conditions change [18,19]. Accordingly, unlike prior studies that treat specialization or generalization as fixed traits, we adopt an adaptive role framework in which a star’s degree of diversification can vary over time in response to organizational needs. Framing roles as adjustable may help reconcile conflicting findings in the literature by emphasizing the dynamic interplay between individual roles and team performance [20–24]. The backbone of (...truncated)